Rower eyes historic Hudson for club

CITY OF NEWBURGH — On a snowy evening in December, members of a new rowing club gathered around a couple of tables with pints of beer in a Newburgh restaurant.

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By DOYLE MURPHY

recordonline.com

By DOYLE MURPHY

Posted Jan. 4, 2013 at 2:00 AM

By DOYLE MURPHY
Posted Jan. 4, 2013 at 2:00 AM

» Social News

CITY OF NEWBURGH — On a snowy evening in December, members of a new rowing club gathered around a couple of tables with pints of beer in a Newburgh restaurant.

Austin DuBois, a bearded 31-year-old lawyer from Otisville, had begun scheduling occasional happy hour events in the city as a way to attract people and get the club going. Newburgh seemed like the right spot. It sits at a convenient location in Orange County, and the Hudson River runs deep along the city's edge. An initial meeting in October at The Wherehouse attracted 30-40 people from throughout the county and beyond. A few days after Christmas, the group included potential rowers from as far away as Millbrook.

"I feel like the Hudson is just such a major historic river, even nationally, that I think it's kind of crazy there's not more rowing," DuBois said.

The club is part of a growing number of people and organizations that see a new range of opportunities in the city. The past two years have seen a new triathlon ground itself on the waterfront, a weekend tour of artist studios balloon into a 700-visitor event and Washington's Headquarters unveil long-hidden exhibits. The addition of Motorcyclepedia on the city's west side prompted a spread in the New York Times while the Newburgh Brewing Company has become a fixture on the east side.

Newburgh's acting director of planning and development, Ian MacDougall, thinks of the new additions as the city's creative economy. At a time when Newburgh is still searching for a future beyond its industrial past, MacDougall sees the activity introducing people to the city in news ways.

"You look at the triathlon and those events, it makes people feel good about the community," MacDougall said.

Neal Wilkinson, one of the founders of the Orange County Triathlon, wanted to bring something positive to his beleaguered hometown when he began making plans more than four years ago. The waterfront with its access to the river as well as nearby roadways was ideal.

"It was kind of like a gift from above for a triathlon," Wilkinson said.

The event was such a success St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital later sought out Wilkinson to help launch a road race. He said there's plenty of potential for any number of new events.

"It's endless possibilities," Wilkinson said. "It really is."

DuBois, who plans to move to Newburgh, feels the same about rowing. In building the Orange County Rowing Association, he and another young attorney, Megan Shedden, are creating Newburgh's second rowing club after the Newburgh Rowing Association. He said multiple clubs trained on Cooper River outside Philadelphia, and he'd like to build something similar in Newburgh. To that end, he recently led U.S. Rowing Events Manager AJ Dominique III on a quick tour along the waterfront.

Dominique said later he liked the look of the area and, although the Hudson might be a little choppy for a national event, it could probably attract some large regattas to the region.

"It looks like there is a lot of enthusiasm," Dominique said. "A lot of people who are gung ho about the idea which is the first ingredient in getting a startup off the ground."